IRWIN Tools Provides Prizes to Future Tradesmen Competing for Top Spots in Their Field

SkillsUSA Students Competing in State Competitions for Carpentry, Cabinetmaking, Electrical Construction Wiring, Plumbing, and Sheet Metal Receive IRWIN’s Support

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Apr 24, 2013) — High school and college students preparing for a career in trade and technical occupations received over 4,000 tool sets from IRWIN Tools – a world-class manufacturer of a broad line of professional hand tools and power tool accessories – during SkillsUSA’s 2013 state competitions. Each SkillsUSA student in the building trades categories – carpentry, cabinetmaking, electrical construction wiring, plumbing, and sheet metal – received an IRWIN Tools Impact Performance Series™ tool set.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce to maintain our infrastructure, build our homes and schools, and repair increasingly complex technological systems on board our cars. Currently, when a tradesman retires, there are a limited number of workers trained to take his place. To help more young people consider promising careers in skilled trades and to help our country develop a better appreciation for skilled tradesmen, IRWIN Tools initiated National Tradesmen Day on the 3rd Friday of every September.

“Encouraging more people to explore an interest in the trades is an important part of preventing an extreme shortage of skilled tradesmen a generation from now,” said Rich Mathews, Senior Vice President of Marketing for IRWIN Tools. “SkillsUSA state competitions provide the largest showcase of career and technical education in our country, and IRWIN Tools is proud to support these talented and ambitious students. We’re also excited to see the state winners move on to compete at the national level in June at the 2013 Leadership and Skills Conference.”

The third annual National Tradesmen Day will take place on Friday, Sep 20, 2013, and IRWIN encourages everyone to celebrate the tradesmen who make our way of life possible. IRWIN also wants to spark a new generation of young Americans to consider and explore career opportunities in the skilled trades at local community colleges.

About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a national, non-profit, career and technical student organization with over 300,000 members that is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working to ensure America has a skilled work force. SkillsUSA provides opportunities for career and technical education students to enhance their technical skills through competitive events and to prepare for leadership in the work world through employability and leadership skill development.